The "difference of means" may not be the "effect size".

Comments on J. Cohen's (see record 1995-12080-001) article with the purpose of restraining enthusiasm for the report of effect size in the form of a confidence interval for the differences of means, rather than the null hypothesis significance testing declaration that the effect size is not zero. Three examples are given in which measurement of effect sizes in the scale of the dependent variable tells researchers little that they need to know. It is suggested that better information might be obtained from effect sizes measured using the d statistic. (N. Cliff; see record 1994-08169-001). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-efficacy and work-related performance: The integral role of individual differences.

The present study estimated the unique contribution of self-efficacy to work-related performance controlling for personality (the Big 5 traits), intelligence or general mental ability, and job or task experience. Results, based on a meta-analysis of the relevant literatures, revealed that overall, across all studies and moderator conditions, the contribution of self-efficacy relative to purportedly more distal variables is relatively small. Within moderator categories, there were several cases in which self-efficacy made unique contributions to work-related performance. For example, self-efficacy predicted performance in jobs or tasks of low complexity but not those of medium or high complexity, and self-efficacy predicted performance for task but not job performance. Overall, results suggest that the predictive validity of self-efficacy is attenuated in the presence of individual differences, though this attenuation does depend on the context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the Auditory Modality Superiority Effect in Serial Recall: Separating Input and Output Factors.

The modality effect in immediate recall refers to superior recall of the last few items within lists presented in spoken as opposed to printed form. The locus of this well-known effect has been unclear. N. Cowan, J. S. Saults, E. M. Elliott, and M. Moreno (2002) introduced a new method to distinguish between the effects of input serial position, output serial position, and the number of items yet to be recalled and found that large modality effects occurred only in conditions in which delay and interference at output (from items already recalled) was high. The authors replicated that finding, even when the response period included output interference acoustically similar to the spoken stimuli to be recalled. However, the authors found that output delay and interference act only by lowering the level of performance to a more sensitive range. The modality effect thus originates during encoding of the list to be recalled, not during output. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A novel direct aerodynamically assisted threading methodology for generating biologically viable microthreads encapsulating living primary cells

In a recent discovery, coaxial electrospinning was explored to encapsulate living organisms within a continuous bio‐polymeric microthread from which active biological scaffolds were fabricated (Townsend‐Nicholson and Jayasinghe, Biomacromolecules 2006, 7, 3364). The cells were demonstrated to have gone through all expected cellular activity without their viability being compromised. These biologically active threads and scaffolds have direct and tremendous applicability from regenerative to therapeutic medicine. Currently these post‐processed cells as composite threads and scaffolds are being investigated in‐depth at a cellular level to establish if the processing methodology has any affect on the cellular make‐up. We now demonstrate a competing non‐electric field driven approach for fabricating composite threads and scaffolds influenced only by a differential pressure. We refer to this novel composite thread to scaffold fabrication methodology as coaxial aerodynamically assisted bio‐threading (CAABT). Our investigations firstly, demonstrate that this technique can process handle living organisms without biologically perturbing them in anyway. Secondly the process is elucidated as possessing the ability to form composite active threads from which biologically viable scaffolds are formed. Finally our study employs florescent activated cell sorting (FACScan), a method by which the cellular dynamics and viability are quantified on control and threaded cellular samples at two prescribed time points. In parallel with FACScan, optical comparison of cellular morphology at three time points within a period of three weeks is carried out to photographically observe any changes in the post‐processed cellular phenotype. Our developmental investigations into this novel aerodynamically assisted threading methodology has unearthed a unique biomicrofabrication approach, which joins cell electrospinning in the cell threading to scaffold fabrication endeavor. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

On the effectiveness of early life cycle defect prediction with Bayesian Nets

Standard practice in building models in software engineering normally involves three steps: collecting domain knowledge (previous results, expert knowledge); building a skeleton of the model based on step 1 including as yet unknown parameters; estimating the model parameters using historical data. Our experience shows that it is extremely difficult to obtain reliable data of the required granularity, or of the required volume with which we could later generalize our conclusions. Therefore, in searching for a method for building a model we cannot consider methods requiring large volumes of data. This paper discusses an experiment to develop a causal model (Bayesian net) for predicting the number of residual defects that are likely to be found during independent testing or operational usage. The approach supports (1) and (2), does not require (3), yet still makes accurate defect predictions (an R ² of 0.93 between predicted and actual defects). Since our method does not require detailed domain knowledge it can be applied very early in the process life cycle. The model incorporates a set of quantitative and qualitative factors describing a project and its development process, which are inputs to the model. The model variables, as well as the relationships between them, were identified as part of a major collaborative project. A dataset, elicited from 31 completed software projects in the consumer electronics industry, was gathered using a questionnaire distributed to managers of recent projects. We used this dataset to validate the model by analyzing several popular evaluation measures (R ², measures based on the relative error and Pred). The validation results also confirm the need for using the qualitative factors in the model. The dataset may be of interest to other researchers evaluating models with similar aims. Based on some typical scenarios we demonstrate how the model can be used for better decision support in operational environments. We also performed sensitivity analysis in which we identified the most influential variables on the number of residual defects. This showed that the project size, scale of distributed communication and the project complexity cause the most of variation in number of defects in our model. We make both the dataset and causal model available for research use.     

Run-Time Analysis for Atomicity

Writing and debugging concurrent (shared-variable) programs is notoriously difficult. This motivated the development of numerous static analysis and run-time analysis techniques designed to (help) ensure that concurrent programs satisfy common correctness requirements for concurrent programs, such as absence of race conditions and absence of deadlocks. This paper focuses on another common correctness requirement for concurrent programs, namely, atomicity, which requires that any set of concurrent invocations of designated procedures is equivalent to performing those invocations serially in some order. Run-time analysis algorithms for detecting violations of atomicity are presented. The algorithms vary in cost and precision.     

Mapping the Characteristics of a 'Good' Play Therapist.

In this pilot study, concept mapping, a methodological approach combining qualitative and quantitative analytic strategies, was used to identify the therapist qualities, competencies, and skills necessary for effective play therapy outcomes as perceived by a sub-sample of 28 experienced play therapists who are members of the Association for Play Therapy (APT). The clusters associated with the therapeutic relationship and facilitative skills (e.g., empathy, warmth, and genuineness) were rated as the most essential skills to possess and also as the most difficult to develop. In contrast, the clusters associated with play therapy interventions and theories were rated as the least important skills to possess but as the easiest to acquire. The findings are discussed, with implications for therapeutic practice, research, and policy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

General relativity and quantum mechanics: towards a generalization of the Lambert W function A Generalization of the Lambert W Function

We present a canonical form for a natural and necessary generalization of the Lambert W function, natural in that it requires minimal mathematical definitions for this generalization, and necessary in that it provides a means of expressing solutions to a number of physical problems of fundamental nature. This generalization expresses the exact solutions for general-relativistic self-gravitating N-body systems in one spatial and one time dimension, and a previously unknown mathematical link between the (1+1) gravity problem and the Schrödinger wave equation.